HÀ NỘI — The northern province of Thái Nguyên ranks second in the country in terms of export value in the first quarter of 2017, the General Department of Customs said.

It has surpassed Đồng Nai, Bắc Ninh and Bình Dương provinces with an export value of US$5.16 billion for Q1, up 12 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The first place is held by HCM City, whose export value for the quarter stands at roughly $8 billion.

Thái Nguyên’s key export goods are electronics and hi-tech products such as mobile phones, phone components and tablets.

The spectacular rise in its export performance in recent years is the result of major investments by the Samsung Group, said Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hảo, head of the import-export division under Thái Nguyên’s industry and trade department.

Under the province’s economic development plan for the 2016-20 period, its target is to achieve US$27 billion in exports by 2020, and become the top exporter in the country’s northern mountainous region.

The province’s export value is expected to grow by nine per cent a year, with export turnover per capita averaging $20,000 a year by 2020.

In order to achieve this goal, Thái Nguyên has put in place a strategy that focuses on production of key export items, such as electronic and hi-tech products at the Samsung facilities based in Yên Bình Industrial Zone, and different varieties of tea.

As one of the largest tea growers in the country, Thái Nguyên aims to ship 10,000 tonnes of tea overseas in the next three years, based on maintaining an annual growth of 13 per cent.

By 2020, the province plans to generate $360 million from the export of apparel, accounting for around 70 per cent of its total export turnover. — VNS